果酱视频

By evening鈥檚 end, with all polling places reporting, the tally stood at Page, 52%; Mantovani, 46%. Green Party Candidate Randall Holmes had about 2% of the vote.聽

In a concession speech shortly after 10 p.m., Mantovani thanked voters for their support and said he felt it was a worthy effort despite the challenges of running a two-month campaign.

鈥淭o the people of 果酱视频, I would continue to implore you to challenge yourself and the community to address our long term and historic challenges: economic stagnation, racial and social equity, and the fragmentation of our local governance structures,鈥澛燤antovani said.

Page thanked county voters and promised to deliver on a balanced budget, equity and jobs.

鈥淚 can say that all campaign battles are finished and the punches thrown, forgiven and forgotten,鈥� he said, repeating a refrain from the primary.

It was an unusual election season for 果酱视频 County鈥檚 top job. Page banked on his roughly three-year record as County Executive to get reelected, while Mantovani, a former Democrat,聽attempted to woo voters with bipartisan appeal.

Page, a 57-year-old anesthesiologist from Creve Coeur, was appointed in 2019 to replace former County Executive Steve Stenger, who was later indicted in a pay-to-play scheme. Page then won an election in November 2020 to finish Stenger鈥檚 unexpired term.

Mantovani, 68, is a retired Ladue businessman who ran and lost twice for county executive, first to Stenger and then to Page. But he was a last-minute pick for county Republicans:聽Katherine Pinner, an anti-vaccine and anti-mask candidate from unincorporated 果酱视频 County, won a surprise victory in the August primary, then dropped out a month later.

Shortly before the polls closed on Tuesday, supporters filed in to Mantovani鈥檚 election results watch party at the Drury Inn and Suites hotel in Brentwood.

There, Dave Clark, 68, a longtime family friend, said he and Mantovani share values and concerns about crime and the economy. Clark typically votes Republican, but supported Mantovani when he ran as a Democrat.

鈥淭he county executive is a CEO role more than a political role,鈥� said Clark, a Kirkwood resident. 鈥淲e need someone who can keep the county in check.鈥�

About a hundred people turned up at Page鈥檚 watch party at the Machinists Hall in Bridgeton, including Theda Person. Person, 50, works in Page鈥檚 administration on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The Affton resident believes Page advocates for 鈥減ositive change in the community.鈥�

鈥淭o be part of a team that wants everyone to feel welcome in 果酱视频 County, as a Black, African-American woman, I really love that,鈥� Person said.

Both Mantovani and Page visited polls Tuesday to talk with voters.

Parthia Long, 73, voted in a bright pink hat and matching lipstick Tuesday afternoon at Pagedale City Hall. The retired special education teacher said she went into the polls worrying about gun violence and the economy. She didn鈥檛 want to vote for either Page or Mantovani, but she chose 鈥渢he lesser of two evils.鈥� She declined to say who her choice was, but said it was 鈥渢ime for a change.鈥�

Maurice Jones, 62, of University City, was more explicit as he went in to vote at city hall. Mantovani lost Jones鈥� vote when he switched to the Republican party.

鈥淣ow I don鈥檛 know who he is or what he stands for,鈥� Jones said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 sort of wishy-washy.鈥�

It didn鈥檛 bother David Oswald, 80, who voted for Mantovani at the Zion United Methodist Church in south 果酱视频 County. Oswald, who backed other Republican candidates Tuesday said it didn鈥檛 bother him that Mantovani had run as a Democrat twice before. He remembers being surprised that the office was partisan when he moved to 果酱视频 years ago.

鈥淲hat difference does it make what party he is?鈥� said Oswald, of Shrewsbury.

Alex Kanter, a 69-year-old retired attorney from Webster Groves, said party makes all the difference, even at the local level. He believes local Republican candidates are aligned with the national GOP, and said he is alarmed by trends in the party toward what he described as anti-LGBTQ and anti-government tendencies. While Kanter wasn鈥檛 enthusiastic about voting for Page 鈥� he thinks Page鈥檚 administration should have been more transparent about jail deaths 鈥� he couldn鈥檛 vote for Mantovani.

鈥淚鈥檓 not saying all Republicans are bad,鈥� Kanter said. 鈥淚 just got a little concerned when (Mantovani) switched to Republican because I鈥檓 not sure what his views are.鈥�

Still, Mantovani did manage to gain at least one crossover vote from a Democrat. Maplewood resident Emily Pelcak voted a straight Democratic ticket 鈥� except for Mantovani, for whom she had voted when he ran as a Democrat.

鈥淚 thought he was the better candidate before and I stuck with him,鈥� she said.

果酱视频 County hasn鈥檛 elected a Republican county executive in 36 years. H.C. Milford was the last, succeeding Gene McNary who won a fourth term in 1986 but quit in 1989 to take a job in President George H.W. Bush鈥檚 administration. Milford was defeated by George R. 鈥淏uzz鈥� Westfall in 1990, and Republicans have lost in every election since.